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House Grafton
House Grafton is a noble house of the Vale. They rule over the largest City in the region, Gulltown. They are sworn to House Royce after House Arryn was stripped of its title as Lord Paramount of the Vale. Lord Darnold Grafton is the current head of the house, although after being crippled in Brynden's Rebellion, his wife Perrianne Grafton resides as Regent of Gulltown. Recent History War in Westeros (209-303 AC) Lord Gerold Grafton ruled Gulltown during the turn of the third century. He provided his youngest son as a ward of Petyr Baelish, then the so-called Lord Protector of the Vale. Grafton was not an exceptional supporter of Littlefinger, but between the choice of the former Master of Coin and the sickly Robert Arryn, never collaborated with the antagonistic Lords Declarant. A not inconsiderable number of Grafton levies were afforded to Littlefinger's gambit to retake Winterfell, and led by Ser Gunther Grafton and his sworn swords. After Petyr Baelish was formally crowned as the King of the Seven Kingdoms in wake of the Great Council of 303 AC, Lord Gerold proved a far more eager supporter and immediately swore fealty to King Petyr, First of His Name, the first Valeman to sit upon the Iron Throne. As a show of material support, ships from Gulltown ferried relief to the smallfolk of King's Landing and the Crownlands to aid in the reconstruction still taking place after the Golden Dragon's invasion in 299 AC. Peace in Our Time (303-327 AC) Following King Petyr I's coronation, Gyles remained a ward of the Crown until he came of age, upon which Lord Gerold and his sons began on a grand tour of the realm. Beginning in Gulltown, the face of House Grafton traveled between every major port in Westeros in the name of diplomacy and to establish valuable trade ties in the wake of the civil unrest that culminated in the Great Council of 303 AC. From Lannisport, Oldtown , King’s Landing, to White Harbor, Braavos, the Stepstones, and beyond, Gerold delivered gifts, hosted feasts, and requested audiences with the wealthiest and most honorable people of note, even wed his second-oldest son Godric to a Tyroshi merchant’s daughter. Unfortunately, shortly after the match produced a daughter of Godric’s own Ser Godric Grafton died in an unexpected raid traveling northwards ironically join House Royce in a mission to cull the mountain clansmen. What few household knights returned reported their assailants to be Burned Men, and no body nor horse was ever found. Lord Gerold slipped into a depression for much of his remaining reign, and delegated a considerable amount of his daily ruling to his two living sons; Gyles oversaw the harbor of Gulltown until his appointment as Master of Ships on King Petyr I Baelish's Small Council, and Gunther administrated all family holdings and negotiated his sister's marriage. Tales of a Wayward Seagull (328-349 AC) In the waning years of his life, Lord Gerold Grafton returned to public light to aid House Royce's coalition during the events of the Culling of the Mountain Clansmen. With memories of his son Godric fresh in his mind, he personally led his household retinue ahead of a levy escorting ample supplies and fresh troops to wage war with the Burned Men and other clans in 325 AC. Lord Gerold stayed with the forces of Royce's coalition until his death in 327, slain in battle as the coalition faced an ambush by clansmen on all sides. Lord Gunther, already having assumed rule of Gulltown in his father’s absence, believed he could surpass his younger brother Gyles in prestige when he inherited his father’s holdings and continued his partnership with traders in Tyrosh, Braavos, and Pentos. While Gunther built a considerable fortune from his trade agreements across the Narrow Sea, he had erred in naming Gyles as admiral of the fleet of Gulltown, and Gyles accumulated significant social capital in his time as Petyr I’s ward and Master of Ships on the Small Council. The Master of Ships had also amassed a bonafide sum of coin greasing the wheels of oversea trade between major Westerosi ports, and close accordance with the Master of Coin, so much so that he personally bankrolled a very gratuitous expansion of his family’s keep between 337 and 341AC. Gunther was so outraged by this display that he left Gulltown aboard a multi-colored ship bound for eastern harbors before the renovations were finished, never to return. When it was increasingly apparent that Gunther had vanished from the face of the world, Petyr Grafton assumed the role of Lord of Gulltown and head of the Grafton family. Gunther would be known as the Wayward Seagull for years to come by Valemen and seafarers. Petyr rose to the challenge of wrangling a noble house with such a significant wayward scion wearing his Citadel links across his neck. Lord Petyr rescinded Gyles’ position as admiral of the Gulltown fleet, citing his position of Master of Ships on the Small Council as too great a draw on his focus, and placed his brother Ser Gerion in Gyles’ place. Petyr formally requested a transfer of all accounts in the name of Gyles Grafton following the Master of Ship’s dismissal from the Small Council when word had broken out of his collaboration with Vorian Martell, whose actions in part with his own lead to The Hand's War in 349 AC. Petyr formally sent Gyles Grafton into exile for his dishonor upon the house, and crimes against the realm. The former Master of Ships fled south into Dorne, where he succumbed to a venomous snake bite in 351 AC. By Grafton's Honor (349-384 AC) Lord Petyr Grafton returned his attention to more domestic affairs in the waning years of his life, setting the Grafton fleet to secure the waters off the coast of the Vale, and patrolling the roads along the south with Grafton levies to dissuade attacks by the clansmen. The smallfolk, nobility, and merchantmen alike knew Petyr to be a man averse to violence, and extolling virtues of temperance and preferred to show a passive hand in both the law and diplomacy. This was best seen in his well-known friendship with Lord Isembar Corbray, the Lord of Heart's Home, and the two were in frequent correspondence. Petyr spared the hard realities of ruling the largest city in the Vale by placing them into the hands of his children; his daughter was married to Lord Manderly of White Harbor, his eldest son Ser 'Don' Grafton was named the captain of the Gulltown city guard, and his youngest son Ser Robert Grafton named the admiral of the Grafton fleet that patrolled the easterly seas. Unlike his kingly namesake, Lord Petyr Grafton passed peacefully just a few years before Petyr 'the Pious' Baelish declared for the Subjugation of the Iron Islands. It was his last request that his house be joined with his dear friend Isembar's, and the seeds were sown for his son Darnold to eventually wed Isembar's young daughter. When the invasion of the Iron Islands began, Lord 'Don' Grafton immediately offered use of his ships to ferry men of the Vale and Crownlands towards the Riverlands to join the mustering force. Some noted the Grafton keep held a septon and septa for every knight during those weeks, and some blamed the zeal on Darnold's adolescent pilgrimages to the Great Sept of Baelor and the Sept of the East in Pentos. As the King was drowned on the shores of Pyke, the Grafton family formally closed the port of Gulltown for a single day and night to hold vigil in wake of the Pious King's demise. The only sight in port were a hundred sleepy ships and a thousand dim candles. Some believed Lord Darnold Grafton was still in mourning when his wife-to-be, Perrianne Grafton, arrived in the year 376. In the name of the Faith, Lord 'Don' Grafton personally knighted over four dozen commoners for their services, and ruled that each septon and septa was entitled to bread and salt beneath his roof or in the home of any able bodied family in his house's domain. It came to no surprise that during Brynden's Rebellion, House Grafton joined House Arryn in rebellion against the crown to herald a return of the Faith Militant and topple the King's rule. Most of the coastline and the Fingers were immediately placed under a Grafton blockade, and the bulk of its levies marched northeast to Runestone as its Lord fought in the Riverlands against the uprising. Lord Darnold engaged the garrison led by his goodbrother Jonothor Corbray, and shortly after scaling the walls, Darnold was struck by arrows and had a great fall. His brother, Ser Robert Grafton, died attempting to protect him. His body was in a terrible state, too many bones broken and fractured, it was considered a miracle by the maester of Gulltown that Lord 'Don' returned to his keep at all. Crippled and medicated beyond sobriety, his final act was to name his wife the regent of House Grafton until his son came to the age of sixteen. Brynden's Rebellion ultimately failed, exterminating the Harrenhal branch of the Baelish family and supplanting House Arryn as Lords Paramount of the Vale. Punishment to Grafton and other errant lords paled in respect to those suffered by the Riverlords and Brynden Baelish himself, but the house had suffered a grievous blow nonetheless. Present Day (385 AC-Present) Lady Perrianne Grafton still currently reigns as the Regent of Gulltown. Named the new Master of Coin by the new Hand of the King, Jon Stark, she has delegated much of her responsibilities to her comatose husband's brothers, nephews, and cousins as she aids in the administration of King Edmund in King's Landing. Family Tree The Grafton family tree can be viewed here . You -- yes, you -- if you are interested in establishing ties with House Grafton, the nondescript characters listed on the tree are currently available for marriage. Category:House Grafton Category:Noble House Category:Houses from the Vale